Wednesday, March 19, 2008

I read a great blog from Seth Godin recently that made me admit a dirty little secret--I only read resumes to check for typos. I don't hire people based on their past experience, I hire people based on their potential and their passion. And I probably am a little partial to people who are a little cocky, and a little quirky. None of this is particularly evident from a resume. And I don't think traditional interviews work either. When I interview someone, its as much about them being sold on me and what I'm offering as me being sold on them.

If I had to pick one thing I'm good at, I would say its finding talented people to work with. I put together a fantastic team at my last company. Its tough to think about starting all over again. But I'm looking forward to meeting new people, building a culture that I'm proud of through the combined efforts of these new team members, and taking my little one-person start-up to a ground-breaking, earth-shattering phenomenon of a company.

If that's the kind of company you want to work for, don't rely on a resume--network, ask for referrals, join LinkedIn, and keep people updated on what you're doing. If a company relies too much on your resume for your interview, I'd be worried. But for goodness sake, if you DO submit a resume, make sure there aren't any typos.